Chicago actress
donates her birthday
to help a nonprofit
that funds research and
comforts people
affected by Alzheimer’s
Chicago actress and writer Ina Ruxandra Bochian will throw a haute soiree while donating her birthday to a worthy cause tomorrow at Paul Chambers Salon (75 E. Van Buren St.).
From 2 to 6 p.m., It’s More Than Hair, We Care! will offer beauty and image-related treatments along with light refreshments to all participating attendees in exchange for a $25 individual donation. The proceeds will go to Hilarity for Charity, Lauren Miller Rogen and Seth Rogen’s nonprofit dedicated to funding research and supporting people affected by Alzheimer’s.
Helping the less fortunate on her birthday is an annual tradition for Bochian, a Romanian-born artist who relocated to Chicago nearly two decades ago.
“I love celebrating birthdays in unusual ways by giving back to people,” she says. “If I could take away some pain from people by giving back love or serve those in need, I feel my life has purpose.”
The benefits of attending It’s More Than Hair, We Care! are far greater than the goodie bag that comes with the price of admission. Paul Chambers will offer hairstyling. Professional makeup artists Candace Michelle, Dara Ayala, and Linda will do makeovers. Five professional photographers — Jamie Colette, Jocelyn Costea, Miles Holt, Daniel Livingstone and Sunny S — will capture the results.
And, of course, guests will also enjoy the warmth of knowing that they helped Hilarity for Charity, which the Miller Rogen’s were inspired to launch after Lauren’s mother was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s.
Hope for the Day, a suicide prevention charity founded by musician Jonny Boucher, will also receive proceeds from the event.
It’s More Than Hair, We Care! is the fourth event that Bochian has hosted for the benefit of Hilarity for Charity. It follows 2018’s Fight for Alz, a boxing-themed birthday bash that raised more than $10K for the nonprofit.
Bochian was introduced to Hilarity for Charity through actor James Franco, who she contacted for advice when she was applying to graduate school in 2013. Since then — after trading her pursuit of academia for a career in film — she has grown to know the actor as someone who deserves “all the respect in the world.”
“He was the first person on his level to help me stay dedicated to my craft when I changed directions in life,” Bochian says. “He makes me feel like I belong when others throw stones.”
Franco invited Bochian to his Bar Mitzvah in 2015, which took place during a Hilarity for Charity Variety Show hosted by Lauren Miller Rogen and Seth Rogen.
“After that first Hilarity for Charity Variety Show I felt so much love from the people I met there,” she recalls. “I wanted to share that kind of hands-on help with my community in Chicago.”
To get in on the love that will flow from tomorrow’s event, It’s More Than Hair, We Care!, click here. to follow the event on Instagram, click here.
Send your charitable news to Reel Chicago Editor Dan Patton, dan@reelchicago.com.
